


Lost in the Dark

by LadyFogg



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Cabin Sex, Dirty Talk, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fingerfucking, Hand Jobs, Masturbation in Shower, NSFW, Oral Sex, Post-Apocalypse, Post-apocalyptic AU, Sex, Sexual Content, Slow Build, Slow Burn, The Long Dark AU, Vaginal Fingering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-28
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-04-06 15:00:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4226268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyFogg/pseuds/LadyFogg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A post-apocalyptic world can be a lonely place, until a half-frozen lumberjack bursts through your cabin door and you find yourself with an unexpected new friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Told you guys this was my kind of “retirement”. I couldn’t help myself. I really couldn’t, especially after playing The Long Dark so much.

_Journal Entry - Month 4, Day 30, Morning  
_

_One month. It’s been one month since I found the lake. It’s still frozen over, and I have no idea what month it is anymore. I only know the days by the tally marks on the inside of this journal cover. The nights are still freezing and the storms are still frequent. At least once a week._

_The cabin seems to be holding up._

_The walls and the doors are still sturdy and I used the workbench to make myself a better pair of boots with the deer hides I collected. This area seems to be ripe with game, though I noticed in the past few days they have been scarce. Another storm must be on the way. A big one. Going to do some scouting today. Food supplies are okay but could be better._

You close the journal and tuck it under your pillow as you push back the covers. The fire in the stove burnt out while you were sleeping, but the room is still comfortably warm. The insulation in the cabin walls is spectacular and you’re lucky you stumbled across such a place.

The first cabin you had found didn’t even have a stove and you had spent the night huddled for warmth in your bedroll. When you had found this cabin, it was like the universe wanted you to. Not only did you find several non-perishable food items, but you also found a hunting knife.

Once the storms die down and the weather gets warmer you’ll move further south. But with the area still so unknown to you, you don’t want to risk doing so sooner. You look out the window and smile when you see the clear sky. Good. No storm right now. The sun is already high in the sky and if you leave soon, you’ll have enough time to do some more exploring.

The cabin has two floors. It looks like it was a ranger’s station at one point. The downstairs has a collection of counters, cupboards and cabinets surrounding a small stove and work bench, along with a small bathroom. The upstairs, where you sleep, has two bunk beds, a desk, and a dresser. A larger stove sits between the beds so you rarely use the one downstairs. The upstairs one keeps the house nice and warm during the below freezing nights.

You pull on your new boots, which are much warmer than your old ones. They had been falling apart practically. Your ski-jacket is next. It’s looking a little patchy and you’ll probably have to do some sewing when you get back. Your gloves aren’t the greatest, but you have some rabbit skins that would make excellent replacement for the worn lining. You just need to find one or two more rabbits to have enough fur.

The air is biting cold when you step outside and you shudder. You hike your bag onto your back and set off towards the lake. Just as you had written in your journal, it’s frozen solid and you step out onto it without hesitation. You have walked across the expansion of ice a dozen times. This time however, you’re determined to check out the ice fishing huts you’ve noticed in the distance. Every time you meant to explore them in the past, a storm or fog came on and without a lantern or another source of light, you knew you’d have trouble getting back home.

The first one you come to doesn’t have much. There are a few newspapers on one of the shelves, which you pack away. It makes excellent kindling. When you open the top drawer of the cupboard, you excitedly pocket several boxes of matches and a bottle of painkillers. You’ve been lucky enough to not be hurt so far, but you don’t want to leave them behind just in case. The remaining drawers have nothing so you do one more sweep before heading out again.

The second hut also has nothing say for a few hooks. You have some fishing line back at the cabin so you pocket them for the future. The fishing holes in the huts are frozen over, but your hunting knife can cut through them. If you could fish from time to time, it would be a great help to your food stores.

When you reach the third hut, the first thing you notice is the hatchet next to the stove. You nearly weep with joy. Up until that point, you had to use your bare hands to collect firewood, which meant you could only really collect what you found broken already, or what was brittle. The hatchet will change that. You slide the handle through your belt loop and let it hang at your side. After searching the rest of the the hut, you find several more cans of food which you store in your pack. Confident you took everything of value, you head back out onto the ice.

At this point you’re in the middle of the lake and the sun has disappeared behind dark clouds. You frown up at the sky and try to think of what to do next. That storm you were dreading looks to be on it’s way, though you don’t know exactly when it’s going to hit. If you keep going in the direction you’re moving, you may get stranded on the other side of the lake.

Not wanting to risk it, you head back towards home.

You just step off the ice when snow starts to fall. With your new hatchet, you set to work gathering as much firewood as you can. Work that would have taken you painstaking hours before only lasts about two and soon you have a nice stack by the back door. The snow is coming down harder now and you can barely see the area surrounding you. You gather an armload of logs and head back inside where it’s warm.

You spend the rest of the day organizing your supplies and sorting through your food. You have quite a collection of cans going and you feel a sense of relief that you won’t go hungry. At least not for the next week. You do have some traps set in the area, hopefully when the storm passes you can check them and see if you caught anything.

Around late afternoon, the windows start to rattle and it’s getting harder to see outside. You decide to retire upstairs. The storm is raging and you know it’s going to be a long evening. You light a small fire in the upstairs stove and reheat some leftover venison you saved from your hunt a few days ago. You’re just cleaning up after yourself when the windows rattle particularly hard.

It’s not just a storm outside, you realize as you glance out the window across from your bed. It’s a blizzard. You can just make out the snow whipping past. The windows rattle again and the wind howls loudly. It feels like the whole building is shuddering and the sound of snow hitting the front door almost sounds like knocking.

You light your lantern and hang it on a hook you fastened to the bunk above you. You figure you’ll write in your journal for a bit before you call it a night. You are just about to climb under the covers when you hear the pounding sound again. Man, that’s some really tough snow.

Wait a minute.

You pause and turn towards the stairs, straining your ears to hear. The pounding sound is continuous now. There’s no way that’s snow. Hunting knife in one hand and lantern in another, you hurry down the stairs. When you reach the bottom landing, you stop and listen again. The thundering against the door happens once more.

Someone _is_ knocking! Or something. No, someone. Animals don’t knock.

You creep forward, knife raised and reach to unlock the door. The second the latch slides back, the door bursts open and a dark figure crashes through it, collapsing in a heap at your feet.

A person.

An actual person!

The cabin is suddenly freezing cold and you put the lantern on the long counter top before you rush to shut the door, struggling against the wind and snow. You finally manage to get it closed and locked once again. You take a few moments to collect your thoughts, before you crouch beside the heap at your feet.

You tuck your knife into its sheath before rolling the person onto their back. They are bundled so tight the only bit of skin visible is a strip across their closed eyes. Carefully you unwrap the scarf from around their head and find yourself looking down at a man. There’s so much hair you can’t barely see his face. His wild beard is caked with snow.

“Hey, hey, buddy,” you say. Your voice sounds so foreign. How long has it been since you spoke? “Hey! Wake up! Are you okay?”

He groans in response and reaches for you, his gloved hand grasping your upper arm. You seize his wrist instinctively with one hand as you seize your knife with the other. His eyes flutter open and the blueness of them takes you aback for a moment. He doesn’t seem to notice your hesitation, or the blade at his throat. “You’re...a person…” he mumbles.

You ease your hold on his wrist and gently pry his hand off your arm. “Yes, I am,” you say. “Are you hurt?”

“Cold.”

Of course he’s cold. You wonder how long he had been out there. He must have been traveling when he got caught in the storm. You know that besides the ice huts, the nearest cabins are all the way on the other side of the lake. If that’s even the way he came. He could have come from any direction really. “I’m going to light a fire,” you tell him. He doesn’t look like he’s in a position to attack you, so you put your knife away again. “Don’t try to move just yet. Do you understand?”

He nods weakly and you grab the lantern as you get to your feet. You make your way to the small pot belly stove. There are a few untouched logs already inside so you use some kindling to transfer the flame from your lantern into the stove. After a few moments, you manage to get a fire going. You slowly feed it until you’re sure it’s going to stay before you close the stove grate. Next you grab your bedroll from under the counter. You unroll it in front of the fire.

When you return to the man’s side, you’re scared to see how pale he is. “Alright, I’m going to need you to move towards the fire now,” you tell him. “Do you think you can do that?”

He nods again and you help him get to his hands and knees. It’s slow work but he manages to crawl closer to the stove. As he goes to lay on the bedroll however, you stop him. “Wait, you’re soaking wet. We need to get your clothes off or you’re going to get sick.”

He doesn’t argue. Instead he lets you remove his gloves and hat. His hair is a dirty-blond, tangled mess and you push it away so you can check him for injuries. Aside from a few scrapes, he doesn’t look bad so far. He doesn’t seem to be able to focus on your face or anything really and he barely moves as you strip him off his jacket, boots and socks.

When it comes to his pants however, you back away slightly. “You need to do those yourself,” you say. “Can you manage? I’m going to get you some blankets.”

“Yes.”

You run upstairs to gather any extra blankets you can spare and a pillow. As you make your way back down, you notice he’s managed to get his pants off and is clad only in a white undershirt and boxers. He collapses onto the bedroll, panting heavily. You can see he’s shivering, but you also notice there’s a thin sheen of sweat across his brow.

That’s not good. He’s probably sick already.

You worry your bottom lip between your teeth as you crouch beside him. He lifts his head so you can slide the pillow underneath. After, you shake out the thick blanket and wrap it around his trembling frame. “What’s your name?” you ask.

“R-Ryan,” he croaks. He breaks off into a cough and you listen to make sure it’s not more serious than it sounds. However, the cough only seems to be from a dry throat and not anything else. “When I saw the smoke, I thought I was hallucinating.”

“You’re not hallucinating,” you tell him with a gentle smile.

“Are you sure?” he attempts to joke.

You chuckle and pull back slightly when you’re satisfied he’s completely covered by blankets. “Ryan, are you hurt?” you ask again. You don’t see any injuries, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have them.

“Not hurt,” he says. “Achey. Exhausted. Hungry.”

“When was the last time you ate or drank something?” you ask.

“I don’t remember.”

You sigh heavily. “Okay, I’m going to get you something to eat,” you tell him. “But you need to drink some water first. Do you think you can do that? Can your stomach handle it?” He nods and you stand up so you can get him some water.

You grab a jug of water and a cup from under the counter. You fill the cup all the way and bring it over to Ryan, who is struggling to prop himself up. You move to sit behind him and you let him lean against you for support. He’s bigger than you, but his weight barely does anything to you. That’s not a good sign. It means he’s probably slightly malnourished. “Small sips. Not too much.”

He seems to relax against your chest and his hand comes to rest over yours as he guides the cup towards his mouth. His body feels so cold, it makes you shudder. You reach with your free hand to touch his forehead, and just as you suspect, it’s burning hot.

Shit.

You have medicine that would help, but he needs to eat something first otherwise he’ll just throw it up. It takes a few minutes, but you make him drink the entire cup. Once he’s done, you scoot out from behind him and slowly help him lower himself back onto the bedroll. “I need you to stay awake until you eat something,” you tell him firmly. “So while I get you food, you need to talk to me. Okay?”

“Okay,” he says. Already he sounds a little better than when he first spoke. You put the cup on the counter before you move towards the stove.

There’s a cupboard next to it and you look through the cans until you find tomato soup and a can opener. “Ryan, do you remember your last name?” you ask.

“It’s Haywood,” he says. You can still hear the quiver in his voice. “What’s yours?”

You tell him your full name as you open the can of soup. There’s already a pot on top of the stove and you dump the soup into it. “I need you to tell me how you’re feeling. Are you warming up?”

“S-still cold,” he says. “But, shaking is slowing down.”

“That’s good,” you say. “How long have you been traveling?” You pull a wooden spoon out of the same cupboard the soups are in and set to work stirring his meal.

It takes him a few minutes to answer, but when you glance over at him worriedly, his face is screwed up in concentration as he tries to recall the answer to your question. “Five days at least,” he eventually says. “I was further north. Game was running scarce. Had to move. Couldn’t find shelter.”

“Did you come across the lake?” you ask. Steam starts to rise from the pot and the room starts to smell like soup. You grab a coffee mug from on top of the cupboard.

“Train tracks,” Ryan says.

The tracks are to the left of the cabin and you had passed over them numerous times while hunting, but you had never followed them in either direction. “How did you see the smoke through the storm?” you ask, glancing over at him. His cheeks are starting to get some color and he seems much more alert. That’s comforting.

“Saw it before it got really dark,” he said. “I just kept moving in the direction I thought it was. When I finally saw the cabin in the distance, I nearly cried. I hoped smoke meant people.”

“Not people, just me,” you tell him. The soup still isn’t quite warm enough, so you leave it be for the moment and move to the first aid kit on the wall.

“You’re the first person I’ve seen in months,” he says.

“Same to you,” you tell him. You open the kit and pull out a bottle of antibiotics. “Now, I have some meds here for your fever. Are you allergic to any medication?”

“No,” he says. “But I don’t think I need it. I feel better.”

“Are you sure?” you ask him.

“Yeah, I feel much better already,” he says. “You should save it for an emergency. Thank you, though.”

You don’t know him well enough to argue with him, so you put the medicine back and close the kit. You can feel his eyes on you as you walk back over to the stove. The soup is just hot enough to drink, but not hot enough to burn so you carefully grasp the handle of the pot with the holder and pour the liquid into the coffee mug. After, you set the pot back on the stove and toss the holder onto a spare counter.

You carry the mug over to Ryan, who has managed to drag himself backwards to sit against the counter, with the pillow tucked behind him. “Thank you, thank you so much,” he says. He moves to take the cup, but his hands tremble dangerously and you instinctively close your hands around his to help him steady it.

“A little bit at a time,” you tell him, just like you did with the water. “Too much at once and you’ll make yourself sick.”

He follows your instructions and you notice his hands underneath yours feel warmer than before, but still pretty cold. You help him drink all the soup and once he’s done, you get him some more water. This time you allow him to drink it in gulps and he downs most of what’s in the jug. Once he does, you push back his hair to feel his forehead again.

“Are you a doctor?” he asks. “You act like a doctor.”

You smile. “You kind of have to be a doctor when the world goes to shit and people disappear,” you tell him.

“That’s true,” he says.

“Alright, I don’t think your fever is getting worse. I think you just need to sleep,” you tell him. You move so he can lay back down and you draw the blanket around him once more. “Just, stay here by the stove. This place stays pretty toasty even when the fire goes out, so just stay bundled. I’m going to bed.” There’s really nothing else you can do for him, and your own body is feeling the fatigue of the day.

“Thank you,” he says once more. “This is...you didn’t have to help me. I’m a complete stranger.”

“Is there a reason why I shouldn’t have helped you?” you ask with a raised eyebrow.

“No! No that’s not what I meant!” he says hurriedly. “Wow, yeah, that came out creepier than I intended.”

“Good night, Ryan,” you say pointedly, getting to your feet. “And just so you know, I sleep with a hunting knife under my pillow and a hatchet under my bed.”

You see him swallow thickly. “Noted," he says.

You make your way back upstairs. The fire in the stove next to your bed is dying out, but you don’t bother to feed it. With both stoves going, you need to be careful. You don’t know how long before the storm dies out and the stack of wood you gathered earlier was meant to run one stove, not two. You climb into bed and lay down on your back, staring up at the ceiling.

You can hear Ryan rustling to get comfortable downstairs and even though he’s a complete stranger, just the presence of another person so close is comforting. You wait to settle until the rustling downstairs stops, and for the first time in months, sleep comes quickly and easily.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning you awake to pale light coming in through the windows.

Snow is still falling and the wind shakes the cabin. You take a few moments to collect your thoughts and rub the sleep from your eyes. You hear the sound of the floor creak downstairs and your mind goes back to the events from the night before. You will admit, you had begun to give up the idea of ever meeting another human being, at least not until you moved further south. How he has managed to survive up here is just as much a miracle as how you have managed to survive.

Deciding you need to check on your new house guest, you ease yourself out of bed and stretch. You walk over to the second bunk bed and begin to clean off the clothes and supplies you have spread out on it. While you still don’t trust Ryan completely, he is sick and malnourished. Sleeping on the hard ground won’t do him any good. You gather a few items of clothing you found in the cabin when you first settled in, hoping they’ll fit him. When you walk down the stairs, Ryan lifts his head to look towards you.

“Morning,” he mumbles.

“I brought you some clothes,” you tell him. “How are you feeling?”

“I have the chills,” he says, yanking the blanket up to his neck. “One minute I’m burning up and the next I’m freezing.”

You walk over and kneel down to his level. You place the spare clothes next to his bedroll and feel his forehead. “You are still warm,” you say. “I think you should take the meds. I don’t want you getting worse.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Ryan agrees.

“There’s a spare bed upstairs. You can have it,” you tell him, standing up straight. You head over to the first aid kit on the wall to get him some antibiotics.

“Are you sure?” Ryan asks as he sits up. “I don’t mind sleeping down here if that makes you feel more comfortable.”

You nod in response to his question. “Yes, I’m sure. You’re sick and you’re not going to get better sleeping on the floor,” you tell him. “Plus, I don’t want to run both stoves if we can avoid it. Will those clothes work?”

“Yes, thank you,” Ryan says gratefully as he pulls off his dirty undershirt. You notice he’s not as thin as you originally thought. His back is actually rippling with muscles and his arms have just the right amount of bulk. However, you know he probably has lost weight since being stuck up in this area, and he needs to eat something more substantial than soup.

You take two pills out of the bottle as he tugs on a pair of sweatpants. When you hand him the pills and a cup of water, he takes both without a fuss this time. After you’re sure he’s swallowed them, you take the cup back and place it on the counter as he finishes pulling his fresh clothes on.  “Can you help me up?” he asks when he tries to push himself to his feet.

You bend down and place his arm around your shoulders, giving him some stability. He manages to stand, but sways dangerously. “Careful!” you say, placing a hand on his chest to steady him. “Alright, put as much weight on me as you can and I’ll help you up the stairs.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you,” he says.

You give a snort of laughter. “I’ve spent the last few months backpacking through the wilderness and hunting. I can handle a little extra weight on my shoulders.”

“If you say so,” Ryan says, doing as you command. “I trust you.”

“Do you now?” you tease, trying to keep things light as you lead him towards the stairs. “How do you know I didn’t just drug you so I can have my way with you?”

“Well, the thought never crossed my mind until now,” Ryan says. “And you wouldn’t need to drug me to have your way with me.”

You laugh as he manages to slowly begin to ascend the stairs. He’s a little more steady now than he was a few moments ago and between your help and the railing, he’s doing a pretty good job so far. “You’re a flirt, awesome,” you say. “Haven’t been flirted with in a very long time.”

“Well then, you are in for quite the disappointment,” Ryan says. “I’m terrible at it.”

“We’ll work on it.”

When you finally get him up the stairs and into bed, the shakes have returned. You hurry back down to get his blanket and some breakfast. After he’s tucked in, you rekindle the fire in the stove and get to work preparing food for the both of you.

You cook the remaining venison you have stored, as well as a can of frank and beans. It’s a little heavier than you usually eat in the mornings, but he needs it so you don’t mind. You can feel Ryan staring at you from where he sits, propped up, in bed. “Can I help you?” you ask, shooting him a raised eyebrow.

He blinks a few times, seemingly snapping out of his daze. “Sorry,” he says, wincing. “It’s just…I haven’t seen another person in so long. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that you’re actually real. Part of me still thinks I’ve finally gone crazy.”

“Well, if you’re crazy then I must be too, so what does it matter?” you ask.

He laughs. “I suppose that’s one way to look at it,” he says. “Two crazy people who found each other when almost everyone else has disappeared.”

“Well, we are the two idiots who decided to get stuck up here,” you tell him.

“That’s very true,” Ryan says. “What are you making? Smells really good.”.

“Venison and frank and beans,” you tell him. “You kept the soup down so you need something heavier. I want you to stay in bed as much as possible until you go half a day without a fever, or the shaking stops. Whichever comes first.”

“Yes, Doctor,” Ryan says, giving you a mock salute. “After all the traveling I’ve done, I have no problem with that. What about using the bathroom and bathing?”

“There’s a small bathroom, under the stairs,” you tell him. “But there’s no hot water. So for the tub, I just heat water for a bath.”

“Did you know this place has a generator attached to it?” Ryan asks. “I bumped into it when I was circling the place, trying to find the front door.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” you say. “Haven’t been able to get it to work. Plus, with all the snow we’ll have to dig it out again.”

“I can take a look when these damn shakes go away,” Ryan says.

“That will be great,” you say. You stir the frank and beans before grabbing a jug of water from on top of your dresser. You always keep water close by, since you tend to drink a lot. But Ryan needs to replenish his fluids, so you hand him the entire jug. “I want you to drink this whole thing by the end of the day.”

“Can do,” he says, unscrewing the cap. “Honestly, I can’t thank you enough.”

“You can thank me by resting and getting better. The fact that you’re here means that I’m not the only one left on this damn planet and it’s incredibly comforting,” you tell him. “And if we both survived, others must be out there too.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Ryan says. He takes a swig of water before placing the jug on the floor next to the bed. “Though, as far as the area goes, I think it’s just us.”

“Could be worse,” you tell him with a smile.

“Yes, yes it could.”

After you both have eaten, you force Ryan to lay down and rest. He doesn’t argue with you. He simply curls on his side while you draw the blankets around him. You get to work doing your daily chores while he sleeps.

You melt snow and boil it so you can keep up your drinkable water supply. While you can get water from the taps in the bathroom, you prefer to save it for bathing and other essentials. While you do that, you move around the cabin cleaning. Every now and then you check on Ryan. He doesn’t stir no matter how much noise you make, which tells you just how exhausted he is. Around early afternoon, you notice the storm has died down and you decide to wake Ryan so you can let him know you’re going out to check your snares.

You crouch by the bed and place your hand on Ryan’s shoulder. His eyes flutter open and he groans. “W’as wrong?” he mumbles.

“Nothing,” you say with a giggle. “I’m just going out to check my traps. Didn’t want you to wake up and be worried.” You feel his forehead. “Well, good news is I think your fever has broken.”

“Yeah, I don’t feel as shakey anymore,” he says. “Just exhausted.”

“Do you want me to fill the bath before I head out? That’ll probably make you feel better.”

“Yes please,” he says, yawning. He reaches out to catch your hand as you draw it away from his forehead. He gives it a light squeeze. “Thank you.”

“You say that so often I’m going to think it’s your catchphrase,” you tell him.

He grins. “Nah, I’m just incredibly grateful,” he says.

“Well you’re welcome,” you tell him, standing up straight. You prepare the tub for him before you bundle yourself up to face the outdoors.

It’s bone chillingly cold out and you vow to make your work quick. You trudge through the freshly fallen snow and make your way to the train track Ryan mentioned the other day. You cross them on your way to a clearing within the forest. You had noticed that there had been an abundance of rabbits in the area, so you had set up a few snares to try and catch at least one.

You’re sure they were buried by the snow, but who knows?

Two hours later, you burst through the door of the cabin with a large smile and two plump, dead rabbits in your hand. Your first two snares were lost, but these unfortunate creatures had been caught before the storm and you managed to see them barely sticking out of the snow. It seemed the animals had returned and that makes you incredibly happy. You drop the rabbits on the counter before returning to the deck to gather an armload of firewood.

You enter the warm room once more and kick the door closed behind you. You stomped snow from your boots, but stopped dead when you see Ryan.

He is standing by the counter closest to the bathroom, in only his underwear as he examines his clothes. You had laid them out to dry when you had been cleaning earlier. The first thing you’re struck by is how handsome he is. His hair is no longer a ratted mess. He had cut most of it and whatever was left was washed and combed. It is still long enough to curl around his ears, but it isn’t in his face anymore. He had also trimmed his beard so it is much shorter and neater. His legs are muscled like the rest of him and you try very hard not to stare at the expansion of skin and the dark happy trail leading downwards...

He looks up and his eyes catch yours. You say the first thing that pops into your mind. “Oh my god, you have a face.”

He looks at you with confusion for a moment before realizes what you mean and laughs. “Oh, yeah,” he says, scratching his beard. “It was driving me crazy. I found some scissors in the bathroom and took advantage. Is it okay? I couldn’t see very well with the weak light.”

“You look great. More like a person and less like a bear,” you tell him.

“What, you don’t have a thing for bears?” he asks with a smirk.

“I do, if it’s a nicely trimmed bear,” you smirk back, stepping out of your boots so you don’t track water into the cabin. You cross the room and place the firewood on the floor by the stairs so you can bring the bundle up later. Next, you lay your gloves out to dry and shrug out of your jacket, hanging it up on the coat rack by the door.  

“So I have a chance? Sweet,” he says.

“A chance at what?” you can’t help ask.

His cheeks turn red and he immediately busies himself with the clothes in front of him. “No wonder I got sick,” he scoffs. You almost laugh at his embarrassment and quick change of subject. “My coat has a hole in it!”

“There’s a sewing kit in the top drawer of that filing cabinet,” you tell him. You walk over to the counter and begin to examine the dead rabbits. “Looks like we’re going to have a nice dinner tonight. Rabbit stew sounds pretty good right about now.”

“That does sound good,” Ryan says. “I’m feeling much better. I can help you with any more chores you need to do. We should think about moving on before the next storm hits, though.”

“We?” you ask with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, I probably should have told you that you’re stuck with me now,” he says. “There’s no way I can leave you here alone.”

You chuckle. “As much as I appreciate the sentiment, it’s not really your choice. I’ve gotten along just fine alone and if I need to, I can do it again. I’m not ready to move on just yet,” you tell him. “The storms are still pretty frequent and game is actually coming back. You can head on if you’d like. But I’m going to stay for awhile.”

“Then I will too.”

“Just like that?”

He walks around the counter to stand next to you. The height difference between you two is a lot more noticeable now that he’s up and about. His body is giving off heat and you’re relieved he’s no longer on the verge of freezing to death. “I told you before, you are the first person I’ve seen in months,” he says. “We have a much better chance of making it out of here alive if we stick together. And I just so happen to actually like your company. I’d like to stay with you, if that’s alright with you of course.”

You smile back. “I’d like that very much,” you admit. “But do me a favor and put some clothes on.”

He laughs, a deep, full belly laugh that makes you laugh as well. Laughing. God you missed laughing. More importantly, you’ve missed hearing someone else laugh with you. It’s been so long since you’ve had a friend and the fact that he’s going to be sticking around makes the cabin seem just a tiny bit brighter.

“I will put clothes on if it will make you more comfortable,” he says, moving back to the counter he had been standing by before. He grabs a pair of pants you recognize from the ranger’s clothing you offer him.

“I’m not uncomfortable with nudity,” you tell him. “I just don’t want you to lapse into another fever. Save the nakedness for when you’re completely back to normal.” You move to where you had abandoned the dead rabbits.

“It’s a date,” Ryan says, pulling the pants on. He nods towards the game you’re busy examining. “Do you want me to skin those for you? I don’t want to go back to bed. I feel useless not helping.”

“You really should rest some more,” you tell him. “But, I’m not going to argue. You do what you think you can handle. I’ll go change into dry clothes and at least get the stew started.” You head towards the stairs, stopping to scoop up the firewood you had abandoned moments before.

“Don’t worry, I will let you know if it’s too much,” Ryan says. “Where’s your hunting knife?”

“In my back pocket,” you say. Your arms are full of firewood and you don’t really feel like putting the bundle down again. So you turn around and stick your backside towards Ryan. “You want to grab it?”

“Errr…I mean, if you're offering. It has been awhile...”

“The knife, Ryan. For the love of god, the knife.”

“Yeah, right, I knew that.” He walks over to you and you feel the knife slide out of the sheath.

“Call me if you need my help,” you tell him before heading up stairs.

He doesn’t end up needing your help. He skins the rabbits while you prepare the stew and once he’s done, he cleans up the mess and brings you the freshly cut meat. You add all of it to the stew and let it simmer. While you do that, Ryan settles in his bunk with his jacket and sewing kit. You write in your journal.

The silence between you two is actually comfortable. You assume it’s because you’re both used to being alone, so you don’t have that urge to fill the air with awkward small talk. You use your journal to document the events of the past twenty-four hours. It’s something you do every day as a way to keep a record of what you’ve found or when you hunted. You have also started to sketch a map of the area on the last two pages, though you don’t have much beyond your cabin and the lake. Maybe Ryan can fill in some of it.

“This is nice.”

You look up from your journal. “Hmm? What is?”

“This,” Ryan says, motioning between the two of you. “Being in someone else’s presence. You don’t realize how alone you feel until…” He doesn’t finish his thought, but then he doesn’t really need to because you know exactly what he means.

“Yeah, it is nice,” you agree. You put your journal down and move to stir your dinner before it burns.

“What are you writing?” Ryan asks. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Oh, nothing special, just keeping an account of what I did,” you say. You add some salt and pepper to the stew and taste it. It’s okay. What you wouldn’t give for some potatoes or more spices. “Actually, I started doodling a map of the area. I was just thinking maybe you could help me fill it in.”

“Sure, let me take a look,” he says. He ties off the end of the stitch he just finished and bites the remaining thread free. He tucks the needle back into the sewing kit. Once that’s done, he places both the kit and his coat on the bunk above his before walking over to your bed.

“It’s in the back,” you tell him as he scoops up the journal.

“‘Dear diary,’” Ryan pretends to read from the page you left it open to. “‘Yesterday I met an incredibly handsome and burly mountain man…’”

“I believe what I wrote was ‘journal entry, day thirty-one, evening. Yesterday a hairy, grizzly looking man fell unconscious into my cabin’,” you say chuckling.

“Yeah, but the subtext is all here,” Ryan says with a cheeky grin. You roll your eyes and shake your head at him. He flips to the back of your journal where the map is and picks up your pen.

You ladle the stew into two large bowls as Ryan starts to sketch. You set the bowls on the dresser to cool and you notice the jug you ordered Ryan to drink is completely empty. Good, you’re glad he followed your instructions. You open the top drawer of the dresser and pull out two cans of soda.

“Here,” you say as you hand him one. “You could use the sugar.”

“Thanks,” Ryan takes the can and places by his feet. “You know this area is a lot bigger than I think both of us realize.” He shows you the parts of the map he was able to fill into the north. “The spacing is probably a bit off, but the area I came from branched off in at least three other directions. Maybe tomorrow we can explore it a bit more. It’s not really that far from here. I never found the end to the train tracks, but there has to be a station. If there’s a station, there could be more supplies.”

“Good call,” you tell him. “So long as another storm doesn’t hit, we’ll check it out.”

After a dinner filled with idle chit-chat, Ryan retires to his own bed. The sun has gone down already and the light from the stove casts flickering shadows on the wall. You write in your journal some more while Ryan lays on his stomach, pillow tucked under his chin as he stares at the fire.

“You know what I miss the most?” he asks eventually.

“What’s that?” you ask, glancing up from your journal.

He’s silent for a moment and you wait for him to gather his thoughts. “Video games,” he says eventually. “I really miss video games.”

You laugh. “Out of all of society’s modern benefits, you miss video games?” you ask, putting your pen down and closing the journal for good this time.

He nods with a smile. “It was a nice way to pass the time on cold nights like this,” he says. “What do you miss?”

You slide your journal under your bed as you think about your answer. “I miss so many things. Fresh fruits and veggies. Spices. But, truthfully you want to know what I miss the most?” Ryan nods urgently. “I miss…” You can’t figure out any way to put it, so you stick with being straight forward. “Intimacy. Not sex. But just...intimacy"

“What do you consider intimacy?” Ryan asks with genuine interest.

“Just being close to someone, physically and emotionally,” you say, laying down and sliding your legs under the blanket. “Being held and just enjoying each other’s company.”

“Would you like to be held?” Ryan asks.

You pause as you move to adjust your blanket and glance over at him. He’s not smirking or looking expectant. In fact, he looks a little worried. Like he’s not sure if you understand what he’s offering. You do understand. If it had been any other scenario or situation, you would have declined. But when you consider his offer, you nod.

“I would like that very much.”

He doesn’t say anything. Instead he gets out of his bed and slowly walks over to yours. There’s not much space, so you scoot over as close to the wall as you can and let him slide under the covers next to you. It takes a few seconds for him to adjust, but then he’s holding his arms out and you curl yourself against his chest.

His body is so warm and the feeling of his chest slowly rising and falling immediately makes your shoulders relax. Your body practically melts. He pulls the blanket up to drape over your shoulder and he nuzzles his face in your hair. “You smell nice.”

You giggle. “I’m glad.”

“Like...smoke and maple.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

You’re not sure how long you lay awake, ear pressed to his chest, listening to his heart steadily beat. You know he falls asleep first, and you try not to move even when your arm goes numb and you feel yourself getting too warm. Instead you burrow further under the blanket and shut your eyes, willing sleep to finally take you.


	3. Chapter 3

Despite what you discussed, you and Ryan don't explore the train tracks the next day, or the day after that. In fact you forget about them all together as several days go by and you fall into a steady routine of chores.

Every morning you and Ryan tackle small tasks around the house after breakfast. He’s quite the handy man and while you clean out the stoves and check your food supplies, he fixes various things around the cabin or collects firewood. The bathroom door no longer gets stuck and that loose step is finally hammered down. They’re all things you’ve been meaning to get to but just never have the time or energy. It’s nice having another person around to share the load with.

Of course that also means you burn through more food, but your hunting trips together have quickly become your favorite part of the day. Now that he’s regained his strength, Ryan is all too happy to show you the way he puts together snares and traps. When you eventually move further south, away from the snow, you vow to get a vegetable garden going. You’re really tired of eating food from a can.

You never talk about him holding you at night. Every night actually.

After dinner, you write in your journal while he makes a list of tasks for the next day. Then you both settle in front of the stove for a game of cards or one of the other beat up board games you had dug out of a cupboard. Eventually your eyes begin to droop and Ryan will silently pack up the game while you climb into bed. He’ll draw the blankets back and slide in beside you, settling himself before you curl into his arms.

Sometimes sleep comes quickly, especially if the hunt from that day was particularly tiring. Other times you’ll lay together, talking quietly, fingers entwined until you both drift off. But in the morning, he’s out of bed before you without a word about the evening before. Then the cycle repeats itself.

On this particular grey morning, Ryan’s face looks grim as you ease yourself out of bed.

“What’s wrong?” you ask.

“I think it’s going to storm,” he announces, tugging on his coat. “I’m going to take a look at that generator before it does. It’ll be nice if we can get some light in here that’s more than just fire.”

“But firelight is my best light,” you say with a grin.

“You look great in all light, Doc,” he says back. “Besides, if I can get the generator to work, just think: a nice, hot _shower_.”

“That sounds amazing,” you say, grabbing a pair of thick wool socks and slipping into them. “Alright, go for it. I’m going to go check the traps.”

Ryan’s face twists into a look of concern. “I don’t like the thought of you being out there without me,” he admits.

Over the past few days, you have been joined at the hip. The crushing loneliness you experienced before is gone now that there’s another person to be around and it seemed you both were trying to take advantage of each other’s company. However, you are more than capable of going to check the traps by yourself.

You give him a pointed look. “Ryan--”

“I know, I know,” he says immediately. “You’re a strong, independent woman who can probably crush a man’s head with her thighs, but that doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to worry.”

His phrasing is oddly specific. You cock your head to the side and raise your eyebrow. “Been picturing a man’s head between my thighs, have you?”

His cheeks immediately turn bright red and he busies himself with pulling on his winter hat. “Oh hey, how about that generator, huh?”

You laugh as he practically rushes down the stairs. “I’ll be careful if you will!” you call after him.

“Can do, Doc!”

You shake your head lovingly at his nickname for you and finish getting ready.

When you step outside, he’s already digging the generator out with a shovel and you send him a wave before moving in the direction of the traps. The area where you had caught the bunnies several days ago seems to be a popular spot for the game in the area and they haven’t caught on to you yet. You have quite a few snares and deer traps set out in strategic locations. You both realized after the first day or so hunting together, that your traps only worked about fifty-percent of the time, so you set out as many as you can with the hope of catching more than just one thing.

The first snare is empty, but not disturbed. Per Ryan’s suggestion, you take it down and set it up in a different location. The next snare has a plump rabbit caught in it. You untangle the dead beast and wrap it in cloth before tucking it into your pack. Snow begins to lightly fall around you and you pause to sit back on your heels and admire it. It really is beautiful. You don’t admire the scenery as much as you should. The untouched forest around you could almost be a winter wonderland.

After taking a swig of water from your canteen, you hoist your bag onto your back once more and keep moving forward.

One of Ryan’s more elaborate traps is about a twenty minute walk from the clearing. You both had been hoping to catch a deer, since they tended to have more meat, which lasted longer. The trap had been untouched for days, but as you approach it, you grin with excitement.

A deer. A skinny one, but a deer none the less.

You wonder if you can get the animal free without damaging the trap. It’ll take some time, but it’ll be worth it if you can keep the trap up. You take your time trying to untangle the deer. The snow begins to fall faster, but it’s still at least another half-hour before your work pays off. You use some rope from your bag to tie the deer’s legs together so you can drag it home. It’s not that heavy, but it is going to slow you down.

The snow is coming down much harder now. You feel like you know the area pretty well and instead of backtracking the way you came, you keep pressing forward. You know you’ll be able to loop around the steep hill in front of you to get back to the train tracks. After about ten minutes, however, the snow is thicker than ever and fog is starting to set in.

Of course.

Of course a storm would hit just as you were stranded in the woods with a dead deer. You keep pressing on. You really have no other choice at this point. However the snow makes the hill in front of you hard to see and the next time you take a step forward, you lose your footing. Your ankle twists unpleasantly and you go tumbling. The world spins dangerous as you roll down the hill, narrowly missing rocks and trees by mere millimeters. When you finally stop falling, you’re on your back staring up at the sky, panting heavily.

Snow is in your coat and boots and you immediately start shivering.

You crane your neck around to look for your game. The dead deer is a few feet away. You had let go of the rope as soon as you fell.

You force yourself to sit up, grabbing the tree next to you for support. When you finally manage to get to your feet, you cry out as pain explodes in your boot. You don’t know if your ankle is twisted or sprained, but you’re not going to stop to look. You hobble over to grab the deer again, but when you finally get yourself ready to continue, you realize you’re completely turned around.

The snow is falling so fast now it’s covering your tracks. You also don’t think you can make it back up the hill to go the way you came, so you have no choice but to pick a direction and walk.

The wind is brutal against your face. The deer dragging behind you feels like it weighs a thousand pounds and the pain in your foot is getting worse. It’s starting to spread up your calf. A shooting, almost unbearable pain every time you put pressure on it. But all you can think of is getting back to your cabin. Getting back home.

Getting back to Ryan.

If you don’t get there soon, he’s going to come looking for you. You may not have known him for very long, but you do know him well enough. Especially after your conversation earlier. He will be worried. He will fret. He will probably pace the cabin and stare out the window about a hundred times. Then he’ll clench his jaw and barge out into the storm to come find you.

You can’t let that happen. You being lost in the storm is one thing, but you will not allow him to get lost trying to find you. You will never forgive yourself if something happens to him. You just found a friend. After being alone for so long, you will not lose him. You keep picturing his face and it helps you keep going.

You can’t leave him alone. Not after you had just found each other.

So you keep trudging on, head bent against the snow. All you can see is white around you and on more than one occasion you walk right into a tree as it seems to appear out of no where. You’ve been walking for at least an hour when your body gives out and you collapse in the snow. Your chest is on fire from the exertion and your right leg is completely numb now, which is not a good sign.

Your vision starts to swim before you, but then suddenly Ryan seems to materialize out of no where.

He drops down to your level, wrapping his arms around you tightly. “I was just about to come looking for you,” he says.

“Ankle,” you manage to croak, clutching him just as tightly. “Can’t get up.”

He takes the deer’s rope from you and ties it securely around his waist before he scoops you into his arms as if you’re made of nothing. He turns in the direction you were moving and begins to work his way through the thick blanket of snow. Minutes later, the cabin comes into view and you realize how lucky you were to be going in the right direction.

He sets you down so he can open the door and help you inside. You manage to limp over to rest against the nearest counter while he abandons the dead deer outside and slams the door closed.

He pushes his hat off his head and draws his scarf down from his face. You can see his expression clearly now. His eyes are narrowed and his mouth is set in a straight line. He crosses to you in one step and gathers you in his arms, crushing you to his chest. “Don’t do that to me again!”

You shut your eyes briefly and inhale his familiar scent. “I was on my way back,” you explain, your voice muffled by his ski coat. “Didn’t see the hill and fell. Lost my bearings. It’s okay though. I’m fine.”

“But you almost weren’t!” he snaps, drawing back to look you in the eye. He takes his gloves off and his hands are warm as they cup your cheeks. “I cannot lose you. Not after being alone for so long. We go hunting together from now on, okay? I know you can handle yourself. Believe me, I do. But if something happened to you--”

“I know,” you tell him. He’s not saying anything you weren’t already thinking yourself. “I get it. I won’t go out without you, and you won’t go without me. Unless we’re staying around the perimeter of the cabin. Deal?”

He nods furiously and presses a kiss to your forehead, before resting his own against yours. You shut your eyes, taking a few deep breaths to calm yourself. You can tell he’s doing the same, his breath mingling with yours as your lips lightly brush.

You could stay like that for the rest of the day, him holding you with his forehead resting against yours. But feeling is starting to return to your leg and your knee gives out. Ryan catches you before you fall. Tears begin to slide down your cheeks at the pain and Ryan helps you out of your boots and jacket.

Once he’s rid himself of his as well, he picks you up again and sets you to sit on the counter. He kneels down in front of you, gingerly removing your sock and lifting your foot to examine your ankle. His hands feel rough, but he’s gentle when he touches the red area. “It’s swollen,” he announces after a few moments.

“It doesn’t feel like anything is broken,” you tell him as you flex your foot a few different ways to test it. “I think it’s just twisted.”

“You should take a bath and then put some ice on it,” Ryan suggests. “I got the generator to work. The bulb is dead down here, but upstairs and in the bathroom it works fine. I also tested the shower and the hot water is working. It just takes a few seconds to kick in.”

That’s a relief to hear. You didn’t want to have to wait for water to boil. Your body is shaking from fatigue and coming down from your adrenaline high. “That sounds great,” you say.

“Stay here and I’ll draw the bath.” He gets up and gives you another quick peck on the forehead before he moves into the bathroom. You hear the faucet turn and the sound of water hitting the tub. As nice as an actual shower sounds, it’ll have to wait until you can stand without pain.

You ease yourself out of your sweater and undershirt, modesty out the window in favor of getting out of your clothes. Both shirts are drenched in sweat and snow and you’re starting to feel gross. Your pants are a little more difficult. You manage to get them undone, but they are wet and sticking to your legs, making it difficult to shimmy them off without standing. You hear the bathroom door open again and you say, “Can you help me with my pants?”

Ryan’s footsteps falter and you glance over your shoulder. He is staring at your naked back with an expression you can’t quite read. You see his chest rise and fall rapidly and his tongue darts out to unconciously lick his lips. However, when he realizes you have caught him staring, blush blossoms across his cheeks and neck and he blinks furiously. “Yeah, sure,” he says, eyes suddenly interested in the wood floor.

Watching him curiously, you lean back on your elbows as he walks around to stand in front of you. His eyes are trained firmly on your jeans as he grips the waistband and you lift your hips so he can slide the garment down the rest of your body.

“You can look if you want to,” you say eventually. “I really don’t mind.”

He shuts his eyes briefly and you can practically see the internal debate he’s having. He opens his eyes and stands as he shakes your jeans out and lays them on the counter next to you. “I’m okay,” he says firmly. When he does turn his head to face you, his eyes meet yours instantly instead of straying across your chest. “Let’s get you into that bath.”

He’s careful as he scoops you up and carries you into the bathroom. Once inside, he sets you on your feet and you push down your underwear. Still he doesn’t look. You reach for him and he grips your arm tightly, helping you into the tub. The water is amazingly hot and you bite back a moan as you submerge everything from your neck down. Ryan puts a towel on the floor next to you. “Call me if you need my help getting out. I’ll get you some painkillers and some lunch.”

Lunch? You must have been gone longer than you thought. “Thank you,” you say.

He nods with a smile before he quickly exits the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

You sit in thought for awhile, barely paying attention to the hot water. Eventually you pick up a bar of soap and start cleaning yourself. You consider Ryan’s reaction to you being naked. While there has been plenty of flirting between you both, he never once tried anything more than that. At night he only held you, nothing more. Never tried to kiss you. Never tried to touch you or ask you to touch him.

You will admit that you have thought about it though. Thought about what it would feel like to have his warm hands glide across your skin and that hard body pressed against yours. Hey, you’re only human. A human who hasn’t been touched that way in a very, very long time. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t use your bath time as a way to...unwind at the end of the day.

Your ankle throbs painfully, bringing you back to reality. You finish washing yourself and manage to get out of the tub without any help. You wrap your towel firmly around yourself and limp back into the main room. Ryan is just coming down the stairs. “Your bed awaits, m’lady,” he says, all smiles once more. He picks you up and carries you upstairs.

He’s laid out fresh clothes for you and there’s something simmering away in the pot on the stove. You’re not sure what it is, but it smells great. Ryan carefully places you by the bed and helps you change into your clothes. Never once do his eyes stray. After you’re settled in bed and you eat the lunch he’s prepared, he offers you painkillers. You gladly accept them as he wraps an ice pack around your ankle with a cloth bandage.

“Will I live?” you ask, after you swallow the pills. There’s a weird tension in the air that you desperately want to break.

Ryan glances up at you and gives you a small smile. “I think so,” he says. “Doesn’t look like I’ll have to cut it off.”

“Oh good.” He takes your empty plate and puts it on the floor before he moves to adjust the blankets around you. “Ryan, can you hold me?”

He freezes this time and his eyes flicker up to meet yours. You wonder if he’s actually considering declining. But he doesn’t. He nods and slides into bed next to you. This time when he holds you, it’s different however. His arms a little stiff and he instead of pulling you close like he usually does, he keeps a respectable distance between your bodies.

You don’t like it.

“Is there anything you want to talk about?” you ask after a few moments of tense silence. “I feel like something’s bothering you and in a post-apocalypse, there really is no need to keep things bottled up inside.”

Ryan sighs and adjusts so he can finally look you in the eye properly. “I’m sorry, I’m just…” he pauses for a moment, seemingly trying to collect his thoughts. You wait patiently. “It’s just been a very long time since I’ve been around anyone, especially a woman.”

“And it’s been a long time since I’ve been around anyone either,” you say. “And I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

He shakes his head. “No, no don’t apologize,” he says. “You didn’t make me uncomfortable. Quite the opposite actually. Look, I won’t deny I’m attracted to you, but I don’t want you to think I’m going to just start pawing at you or that I’m taking advantage of you. It’s been really lonely. And I don’t know if…I mean, I wasn’t sure…”

You can see he’s floundering, but you think you understand what he’s trying to say. “I’m attracted to you too,” you tell him, earning a lopsided grin. “At first I thought it might be because of loneliness, but now I’m not so sure.”

“Yeah, me too,” he says. “I didn’t want to try to read too much into anything, just in case it really was the loneliness getting to me. Too bad there isn’t a way to test it.”.

After a moment you say, “Well. There kind of is.”

He raises his eyebrow as he looks down at you. “How?”

“You should kiss me.”

He doesn’t say anything. He stares at you for a few minutes and once again you see the silent debate going on in his head. He opens his mouth as if he wants to respond, but closes it again. Actually, he doesn’t this a few times until you can’t help but smirk.

“If you don’t want to--”

“I want to,” he blurts out. “God, I want to.”

It’s your turn to feel your cheeks flush and you turn your face up towards his expectedly. Slowly, very slowly, his hand comes up to brush your hair back from your face and he tucks it behind your ear. His fingertips make a soft trail along your cheek and jaw. A powerful shudder moves through your body and you briefly close your eyes until it passes. When you open them again, he’s staring at you so intently you find you can’t look away. His hand moves back up so his fingers can slide into your hair as he grips the back of your head and draws you closer towards him.

You watch his eyes flutter close as his lips part slightly and you tilt your head back further so that your mouth line up perfectly with his. Your own eyes close as soon as his lips press against yours. It’s a gentle kiss, simple and almost innocent as he slowly moves against you. Instant heat shoots through your body and pools in your belly, making your toes curl. He draws you in closer after a few seconds and you take the opportunity to deepen the kiss, your hand coming up to rest on his wrist.

You let out a small whimper.

Ryan moans in response and the kiss becomes something else entirely. You slide your tongue against his bottom lip questioningly and he coaxes it into his mouth with his own. They battle for a few moments before yours wins and you’re exploring his mouth hungrily, tasting every crevice you can find. The hand in your hair is gripping tightly and after a few moments, he tugs lightly, forcing you to draw away.

You’re both panting like you’ve just run a marathon. His eyes are filled with lust and you feel yourself throb under his intense gaze.

“Definitely not just loneliness,” he says breathlessly.

“Agreed,” you say, before diving in for another kiss.  
  



	4. Chapter 4

“Ready to go?” Ryan asks, hoisting his bag onto his back. “Your ankle okay?”

You’re already bundled and standing by the door. “Yup, I’m good. The sun is just coming up. We should have plenty of time to check things out and get back,” you say. “Glad we’re not putting this off anymore.”

Today was the day you two finally decided to follow the train tracks. There hadn’t been a storm in almost a week, which is a good sign. You have plenty of food and firewood. Your ankle is feeling much better and you hadn’t had any pain in over a day. Truth be told you’re getting a little antsy and exploring the area will change up your routine a bit.

You both leave the cabin and make your way to the tracks. It’s cold, but no where near as unbearable as it has been. You actually don’t need your scarf covering your face. You both move in the direction Ryan had come from days ago. Actually, it’s more like weeks now. You think. Maybe it was a month? You’ve stopped keeping track to be honest. All the days just seem to blend together.

“So I was wondering something,” you say after a stretch of silence.

“Yes, my eyes are really this blue and I am really this handsome,” Ryan says instantly.

“Well, duh, that’s obvious,” you tell him, smiling as he grins back at you. “But that’s not what I was going to say. I was actually going to ask you why you tend to flirt and then change the subject when I flirt back or call you out.”

You expect him to deny or change the subject, but he chuckles. “Man, how long has that been bugging you?” he asks.

“For fucking ever,” you admit. “But ‘bothering’ is not the right word. It’s just something I noticed that I’m just curious about it.”

“Well, for one thing, I’m not used to flirting actually working,” Ryan says with a chuckle. “For another, I’m also not used to having someone flirt back. So then I get nervous and flustered. I also didn’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

“What wrong idea?” you ask.

“That I was some drooling, lust-crazed, creeper who was going to try and maul you,” he says.

“You’re not one though,” you say. “And I think we both know that you can try to maul me if you’d like.”

Ryan makes a noise in the back of his throat that could almost be a suppressed moan. “See, you go saying things like that and I don’t know if you’re serious or just joking,” he admits. “And I don’t want to do the wrong thing. You’re my friend. You’re my companion. We’re partners in this whole mess. I don’t want to screw that up.”

“And you think sex with do that?” you ask curiously.

“I think if neither party is ready for it, sex can absolutely screw things up,” Ryan says. “I respect you too much to let that happen.”

“Is that why you won’t look at me naked?”

“Why are we talking about this again?”

“Because we have a long day of walking, we don’t know what we’re going to find and there is literally nothing else to do,” you tell him. “I’m not angry. I’m not insulted or annoyed. I’m just genuinely curious. Believe me, if I was angry, I wouldn’t be saying anything.”

Ryan sighs and adjusts his winter hat. “If I ever see you naked,” he says after a moment of silence. “I want it to be because you want me to. Not just me sneaking a peek or looking just because you’re getting undressed.”

That’s actually incredibly sweet and endearing. It’s nice to see that his manners didn’t disappear along with the rest of the population. “Just like when you didn’t kiss me until I told you to,” you say with realization.

“Exactly,” Ryan says smiling.

There had been plenty of kissing since then. But never without your consent first. And you make it a point to ask, in case he’s not in the mood. Though, he has yet to deny you. You bump him with your shoulder as you continue to follow the tracks. When he looks at you, you smile. “You should kiss me now.”

Ryan stops walking just as you do and he leans down to capture your lips with his own. It’s a quick kiss, just a press of lips without any intent to go further. Afterwards, as you resume your walking, his hand comes out to take yours.

“I have another question,” you say after a few minutes.

“Again? Now I know why you really wanted to go on this walk. This is an interrogation, isn’t it?”

You bump him with your shoulder once more, harder this time. He nudges you back. “Why don’t you ever sleep in?” you ask. “Yeah, we have stuff to do, but some days we can just stay in bed for a little while. But you’re always up before me.”

“Ah, yeah, that,” Ryan says. This time he actually looks embarrassed. “It’s because I tend to go to the bathroom to shower and...calm down.”

You frown for a moment, before you register what he actually means. “Ohhhh.”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.”

“Yup.”

“ _Every_ morning?”

“Yeah--wait, no! I don’t do anything about it, I just take a cold shower to make it go away,” Ryan says. After a second he adds, “Most of the time.”

“And the other times?” you ask, because you really can’t help yourself.

While he’s still blushes, Ryan just gives you a pointed look. Oh dear lord. There’s an image you never realized you needed until that exact moment. You feel a rush of warmth run through you at the mental picture of Ryan, wet and naked, leaning against the cracked tile of the shower with his hand gripping his cock…

“You there, Doc?” he asks with a knowing smirk.

You’re not even going to deny what you’re feeling. There isn’t any point to. “Nope, I am not,” you say, shaking your head. You can’t rid the image your mind has created, mainly because you really don’t want to.

Ryan laughs, cheeks beet red. Though you don’t think it’s just from the cold. “You telling me you haven’t ‘taken care of yourself’ since I came along?” he asks.

“I said no such thing,” you tell him.

Now it’s his turn to get a far away look. “When?” he asks immediately.

You laugh. “The shower.”

“That shower has seen some things in the past few weeks,” he says with a grin, making you laugh harder. He drops your hand so he can hike his pack up higher on his back.

You both continue to follow the tracks until you come to a spot where a train car derailed. It’s overturned on its side, but you and Ryan find nothing of significance as you scour the area around it. After a few minutes, you continue moving on. You find the place where the forest seems to split off in different directions, but you keep on your current path.

“What exactly are you hoping to find?” you ask him out of curiosity.

Ryan shrugs. “Anything really,” he says. “Maybe even something to carry our supplies better for when we eventually head south. I don’t know. I just don’t want to move on until we’re sure we’ve explored the whole area.”

“Are you hoping to find other people?” you ask him. “I thought you were sure it’s just us up here.”

A pained expression crosses his face. “True, I haven’t seen any signs that there are any,” he says. “But I couldn’t forgive myself if we moved on and left someone behind.”

There’s something in his voice that makes you frown. You want to question him further, but you’ve grilled him enough for one day so you let it go. “I can understand that,” you say. He smiles softly at you and takes your hand again.  

You walk for nearly two hours before you see a small building in the distance. It doesn’t look like the actual train station, but it looks like it was a pit stop at some point. You look for signs of people or any kind of movement, but you don’t see any. The door is wide open, which solidifies your thought that there is no one there. The station is in rough shape. The windows are broken and part of the roof has caved in. You carefully pick your way through the mess and begin checking under the counters for anything useful.

Ryan moves to the shelves. “There’s a radio!” he exclaims, taking his gloves off. He fiddles with the knobs and makes an excited noise when it turns on. He picks up the transmitter. “Hello? Hello?” You both pause, but no response comes through. Ryan frowns and starts to mess with the knobs, while you gather any  supplies you can find. There’s a first aid kit which you pack away and few bags of beef jerky. Other than that, the place is empty.

“How goes?” you ask Ryan, coming to stand by his side.

He shakes his head and you place a comforting hand on his back. “I’m going to take this with us. It seems to work but I can’t really tell if it’s transmitting or receiving anything. I’ll have better luck examining it at our cabin,” he says, turning the radio off.

“Better safe than sorry,” you say. “Especially since it still actually works.”

Ryan shrugs his bag off and carefully packs the radio away. “This didn’t take as long as I thought it would. You want to keep following the tracks?”

“Yeah, let’s,” you say, nodding. “Might as well while we’re out here.”

After doing another quick search of the building, you both set off again. You continue to follow the tracks away from the direction of home. The sky is still clear, though the temperature has dropped some.

“I do want to say that I’m glad we’re going to stick this out together,” Ryan says after a few minutes of walking. “Knowing that I’m not going to go through this alone is such a comfort.”

You smile at him. “I agree,” you say. “Especially if more making out is involved.”

“Dude, I am going to make out with you so hard tonight.”

You laugh not only for his conviction, but the fact that any kissing you have done has been completely controlled. He hasn’t tried to push you any further, and you haven’t tried to urge him on. You figure that whatever is happening between you two is still so new and you’d rather not force anything. Though just making out alone has definitely fueled your shower “festivities”. Before Ryan, there weren’t really fantasies to take care of yourself to. It was mostly just going through the motions, in a manner of speaking. Getting it done just for the sake of doing it.

But now. Now there’s a face to picture, hands to imagine…

You snap yourself out your daze, glancing at Ryan. But he looks lost in his own mind. You wonder what he’s thinking about. You? Or has he moved on to think of more important things. You know if you asked him he would tell you. Clearly you had no secrets between each other, but you also know he needs his privacy and not all his thoughts have to be yours. So you don’t ask him, you let the silence be and continue walking alongside him.

The end of the train tracks turns out to be a bust. It leads to a tunnel which has caved in, blocking the way.

“Well that was anticlimactic,” you say. “Do you want to just head home?”

Ryan pouts grumpily. You feel bad. You know how much he wanted to find evidence of other people. “Yeah, let’s turn back,” he says reluctantly. “I’m freezing my bits off.”

“Oh no, we can’t have that at all!”

“I know, I need my bits,” Ryan says.

“We both need your bits,” you blurt out before you can stop yourself.

“Oh really?” Ryan asks with a deep chuckle. “Both of us?”

“Man, these trees are just gorgeous,” you say and his chuckle turns into a cheerful laugh. It makes you feel good to be able to chase that sad look off his face.

You spend the rest of the walk trading innuendos. Despite the conversations, walking back seems to take forever. The sun eventually disappears behind some clouds and it gets colder. You keep expecting it to start snowing or storming, considering your recent luck. But it doesn’t. However, by the time the cabin comes into view, you’re so cold, your teeth are chattering. You both break into a jog and you push open the door to your home.

You stomp snow off your boots and drop your backpack onto the floor. Ryan follows your lead after he closes the cabin door. “Brrrr,” he says. “So glad I got that generator working. A hot shower would do both of us some good.”

“You can go first,” you tell him, beginning the process of unbundling yourself.

“Are you sure?” Ryan asks. “I don’t mind waiting.”

“No, no, go ahead,” you tell him. “I’ll take care of this stuff.”

He steps out of his boots and hands you his outerwear before making his way to the bathroom. He closes the door behind him. You hang his coat and scarf on the coat rack and place his hat and gloves on the nearest counter. You do the same with your own things. As you hear the water turn on, an idea strikes you. You take a few steps across the room until you're standing in front of the bathroom door.

You bite your lip with thought as you stare at the wood

Your conversation from earlier comes back to you and you run a hand through your hair. It’s not like he’s not attracted to you, and it’s not like he doesn’t want to be with you. You understand where he’s coming from in terms of being worried about ruining your friendship. But you also want more. You want to be with him physically, if he’s willing of course. It couldn’t hurt to offer it to him. Could it?

You hesitate for a second before knocking on the door.

“Yeah?”

You take a deep breath and step into the small room. It’s already filled with steam. Ryan pokes his head out from around the curtain. “Everything okay?” he asks worriedly.

“Yes, everything’s fine,” you tell him, closing the door as you lean against it. “I was just wondering if you wanted some company.”

His eyes widen almost comically. He stares as you as if he doesn’t believe what he’s hearing. You remain unusually still, almost afraid to move for the fear that he’ll freak out or something of that nature. Your hand is behind you, gripping the doorknob, just in case he declines. After a few seconds of stunned silence, Ryan swallows thickly. “Yes, I would love company.”

You give him a small smile before you stand up straight and let go of the doorknob. You reach for the hem of your sweater and pull it up and over your head. You hear him inhale sharply as he finally is able to stare at your bare chest. His eyes rake over your naked torso hungrily and you move to unbutton your pants. He ducks back into the shower before you can get fully undress, and you wonder if he’s taking a moment to collect himself.

You finish undressing and slip into the shower with him. He’s facing away from you and he’s standing under the spray of the shower. You watch the water run along his toned back, following it down the dip of his spine to his round backside. Your heart is thundering in your chest and you close the distance between you both, wrapping your arms around him from behind.

He freezes for a second, before he lets out a shaky breath and relaxes into your embrace.

“You know,” you say in a low voice, your lips brushing his shoulder blade. You feel a shiver pass through him. “I wouldn’t mind taking care of you myself, if you would like.”

Something akin to a strangled moan escapes Ryan and he practically grinds back against you. “Please take care of me.”

You smirk and slide your hand down his chest and then his thigh, before you gently cup him. He whimpers at the light touch and reaches out to place a hand on the shower wall in front of him. You take your time gliding your hand along his shaft, exploring the bit of flesh by touch since you can’t see anything from your position. He’s already hard and you come to a sudden conclusion. “Were you worked up before I got in here?”

“I might have been,” Ryan says.

“Thinking of me?” you ask. You begin to stroke him softly, closing your eyes as you press your forehead against his back.

“Who else?” he asks. “I’m always thinking about you.”

“What do you imagine when you’re touching yourself and thinking about me?”

You expect stuttering. You expect a sputter of disbelief. You do _not_ expect the deep chuckle, or his free hand to close around yours, forcing you to squeeze tighter. He guides your hand up and down his shaft and you let him direct your movements. You place your other hand on his waist and run your tongue between his shoulder blades to taste his salty skin. You follow the lick with several light nips with your teeth. He grunts and gasps.

“I’m lying on the bedroll in front of the stove upstairs,” he says softly. You’ve never heard his voice in such a low register and it makes your knees buckle. “You’re straddling my hips and I’m buried to the hilt inside of you.”

You bite back your own moan in favor of hearing his voice. You wish you could see his face. But for now, you’re content to taste the skin in front of you as he helps you pump his cock.

“My hands are gripping your waist and I’m pounding up into you,” Ryan continues. “And I’m just watching your face and you look so fucking beautiful.” His grip on your hand is not letting up and he speeds up your movements even more.

You continue to drag kisses across his back. “How does it feel being inside me? Am I wet for you?”

“So fucking wet,” Ryan gasps. “God, you feel amazing and your hands are pressed against my chest. But I need to feel more of your skin against mine. I pull you forward and hold you tight.”

“You must be pounding into me so hard,” you continue for him, causing him to moan. “My hand is in your hair and my nails are clawing at your chest as I come on top of you…”

You swipe your thumb across the head of his cock and you feel him thrust into your hand. That seems to be his undoing because then he’s grunting and coming all over the floor of the shower. You’ll never forget the sound of that strangled groan and you’re almost sad you couldn’t see his face. What you wouldn’t give to see the look on his face as he comes with your hand wrapped around him.

He lets go of you and you draw back slightly so you can wash your hand. When you take a step away, he spins around and you find your back touching the shower wall. His mouth is on yours and you clutch him desperately. His body is flush against you and his hand moves to cup your breast.

He runs a thumb over your nipple as his teeth nip your bottom lip. “Touch me,” you order. “Ryan, touch me now.” 

His lips drag to your neck and his hand moves between your legs. He slides a finger along your slit and you arch your back. It’s better, so, so much better than touching yourself. You don’t need to imagine anymore. You can _feel_ it. It’s actually happening. His mouth continues its assault on your neck as he explores you with his fingers. His thumb rubs circles around your clit and you gasp. “ _Ryan!_ ”

He groans. “Does it feel good?” he growls in your ear, his tongue flicking out to trace along the shell.

“YES,” you gasp. “More. I need more.” You were still so worked up from getting him off, you know it’s only a matter of time before you completely unravel.

When his finger slides into you, you nearly come undone right there. You move one of your hands into his wet hair and bring his face in for another kiss. He slides another finger into you and with one more firm rub across your clit, you come, clamping your thighs around his hand. Shocks of pleasure course through you at an alarming rate and for a split second you forget how to breath and stand.

He’s holding you up now and he keeps stroking you until you reach down to gently place your hand around his wrist. He stops his movements then and you release his hand from your thighs so he can carefully ease his fingers out of you.

“That was exactly everything I wanted it to be,” Ryan pants.

“Mmmm, it was fantastic,” you purr, nuzzling his neck. He cups your cheek and his mouth catches yours in a sloppy kiss. When he draws back, you add, “I do have a request however.”

“Anything,” Ryan says, his blue eyes wide and the corner of his lips turned up in a lopsided smile.

“You should sleep in tomorrow,” you say.

He raises an eyebrow and his smirk widens. “Oh? Any particular reason?”

“We haven’t gone over my fantasy yet.”


	5. Chapter 5

Per your request, Ryan is still in bed with you when you wake up the next morning.

At first you don’t realize it. You are warm and cozy, buried under the blankets. You feel him shift behind you and suddenly you’re body is awake. As is the rest of you. You’re curled on your right side, facing the wall, and he’s spooned up behind you. The unmistakable feeling of his erection presses into your lower back and you smirk to yourself as you stretch and grind back against it.

Ryan’s arm tightens around your waist. “Mmmm, so this is why you wanted me to sleep in,” he says. His voice is thick with sleep as his lips brush against your ear.

“So I can grind against you until you come?” you purr, arching your back slightly.

Ryan groans. “You’re so mean. But I think I’m gonna need to wake up a bit first,” he says with a chuckle. However, he doesn’t stop moving against you. “And maybe go rinse out my mouth.”

“Good idea,” you say. You grind back against him harder. “I should probably stop then, huh?”

“Probably…” Ryan pants.

But you don’t. Not right away at least. You grind against him, until his hand squeezes your waist and he draws back slightly. You take that as a cue and turn around to face him. “I’ll go freshen up first,” you say. “Be back in a second.”

You have no other choice but to climb over him to get off the bed and you make sure to straddle him as you do. He stops you for a brief moment, thrusting up against you just once with a whimper. You chuckle and place a peck on his jaw before sliding out of bed.

The cabin feels so much colder now that you’re not touching Ryan, so you hurry to the bathroom so you can return to the warmth of the bed. You relieve yourself, brush your teeth and wash your face. Once you get back upstairs, it’s Ryan’s turn. As soon as he disappears downstairs, you get a small fire going in the stove to warm up and then strip, letting your clothes stay wherever you toss them. You get under the blanket again to wait.

When Ryan comes back upstairs, he notes your clothes on the floor and smirks. “What exactly are your intentions?” he asks crossing his arms at he comes to a stop by the side of the bed.

“Whatever you’re comfortable with,” you tell him. You turn to lay on your side and the blanket slips down slightly to reveal your bare shoulder and the tops of your breasts.

He notices and you see him inhale sharply. He seems to consider the situation for a moment before he yanks his own shirt off and drops it on top of your clothing. His pants and underwear come off at the same time and you finally are able to see him in all his naked glory. And it is glorious. Your eyes are immediately drawn to that bit of flesh you had been so desperate to see the day before.

His eyebrow raises as you drink in the sight hungrily. “You look ready to devour me,” he says huskily.

You smirk. “Actually, I was hoping it would be the other way around,” you tell him, your eyes flicking up to meet his. “Ever since you mentioned a man’s head between my thighs I’ve been a little...preoccupied with the thought.”

Ryan’s grin widens and he moves to crawl into bed next to you. “It was my head,” he says. “I was picturing my head between your thighs.” He leans over you and you move in for a kiss, sliding your hands up his muscled arms. You both moan into each other’s mouths and Ryan adjusts the blanket before he begins to kiss his way down your body.

You remain on your side, your hand smoothing his hair back. His tongue leaves a hot, wet trail between your breasts as he moves down the bed. Your skin raises with goosebumps when he nips his way along your stomach. His hand glides down the swell of your hip, moving to cup your backside. He gives you a firm squeeze just as he scrapes his teeth along your hip.

The same hand slides to your thigh and lifts your leg over his shoulder, but eventually moves back to massage the round flesh he just squeezed moments ago. His soft lips and rough beard scrape across the sensitive skin of your inner thigh. Your fingers find their way into his shaggy hair and tangle themselves in the locks.

Ryan kisses his way along your thigh until he reaches your mound and gives you a tentative swipe with his tongue. You instantly gasp as you bite your lip in anticipation. He gives you a few more careful licks before softly blowing on the hot flesh in front of him. Your whole body shivers.

“Tease,” you hiss.

He chuckles. “Maybe just a little bit,” he says, his voice muffled as his lips brush against your folds. You look down to find his blue eyes staring up at you fiercely and as soon as you make eye contact, he gives you a firmer lick. He does it a second time, and then a third, all the while keeping eye contact. He keeps going until your mouth is hanging open and your throw your head back.

His tongue is exploring every bit of you he can reach. The contrast between his soft tongue and lips and his rough beard is maddening. He has you whimpering and twitching within minutes. The hand on your backside is firm as he kneads the flesh, his mouth sucking gently. He’s taking his time with you and there’s no way you’re going to complain about the slow and steady pace. It’s not until you feel an index finger circling your hole that you remember he has a second hand. The finger glides in smoothly and your moan comes out louder. “Ryan…”

He pulls his mouth away slightly. “Wish you could see how gorgeous you look right now,” he coos as he fingers you. His tongue snakes around your clit and you buck unexpectedly. He anticipates it however and draws his mouth away for a second until he readjusts his grip. Now he can direct your movements while you gyrate against his hand and you have no problem letting him take control.

Your body is on fire as he continues his assault on the flesh between your legs. You lose track of time. The only thing you can focus on is his wicked tongue and curious finger. When it’s clear that you’re thoroughly worked up, he adds a second finger, crooking them just right way to hit that special place that he had been avoiding before.

You give a loud shout of surprise, gripping his hair tightly. “Oh god!” you gasp. Your chest is heaving and a thin layer of sweat has formed across your body.

“You going to come for me, sweetling?” he purrs, mouth unrelenting. Your eyes are closed but you can feel that he’s staring at you again and you nod furiously.

“I’m going to--” you don’t even get a chance to finish before your orgasm is wrung from you by his hungry mouth and talented fingers. Your body trembles as the waves of pleasure course through you and you collapse, boneless, into the mattress when it’s all over. Ryan carefully draws his fingers away and you open your eyes in time to see him lick them clean before placing several hot, open mouthed kisses to your inner thigh. The area is slightly irritated from scraping against his beard, but his tongue soothes the reddened flesh.  

His hair is sticking to his forehead as he moves up the bed, peppering your stomach with kisses. Your leg slips from his sweaty shoulder and eventually comes to rest around his waist as he finishes maneuvering himself to your level. His mouth is still unrelenting as his lips close around the hard bud of your nipple, exploring and tasting and _pulling_ …

“This fantasy of yours,” he mumbles around the flesh, forcing you to try to focus. “What else did it include?”

The hand that had gripped your backside so firmly now comes up to cup the breast he’s busying himself with.

“Um, ugh…” you pant, still trying to catch your breath. Your mind is a blank slate right now and all you can focus on is his mouth on you. He draws back, but it’s only so he can turn his attention to your other breast. “Sex,” you blurt out, a little more forcefully than you mean to. “I need your cock inside of me.”

His mouth (that wonderfully talented mouth) travels up to suck on your neck and his hand moves to your back so he can pull you flush against him. “How do you want me?” he asks.

Some way. Any way. All the ways. For fuck’s sake, _every way!_

A myriad of positions fly through your brain as you try to answer his question. You tug his hair back so you can crash your mouth against his in a claiming kiss. He cups the back of your neck and kisses you just as urgently, swallowing every moan and gasp with a deep grunt in the back of his throat.

“On top of me,” you manage to say when you pull away for air. Your lungs are on fire and your heart is pounding so hard in your chest it’s almost unbearable, but you’d be damned if you slowed down or even stopped.

In one fluid movement, Ryan rolls you onto your back, his large frame looming over you. You can feel his erection touching your thigh and you lift yourself to rub against it. It’s his turn to whimper with need this time. You spread your legs apart just as his mouth comes crashing down to yours again and you blindly seek out his cock with the hand that’s not clutching his shoulder. You wrap your fingers around his erection firmly, stroking just like you remember him showing you. He gasps and moans while you drag your lips along his neck, pausing to suck hard enough to leave a purple bruise.

You guide him to your aching slit and rub yourself along the head of his cock.

“Now who’s the tease?” Ryan pants, drawing away slightly to smirk at you.

You smirk back and let him take over. You slide your hand up his hip and back until both your arms are around his neck. Slowly and gently, he presses into you with small, careful thrusts until the head of his cock is enveloped by your wet heat. You wrap your legs around his waist, urging him on and he draws out slightly before surging back in. He doesn’t this several times until he’s finally completely buried inside of you.

You both let out cries of pleasure and his mouth seeks yours once more. He starts to thrust.

He’s so hard and hot inside you. Oh my god you can even feel him throbbing. You cling to him tightly mouth refusing to leave his. One arm stays around his neck while you move your hand down his muscled bicep. His firm hand comes off the bed to seize yours and he pins it above your head. You tangle your fingers with his and give his hand a light squeeze. He squeezes back.

His thrusts become deeper, but he keeps the same steady pace. The need to take things slow and make them last has not left him just because he’s inside you.

Even before everything that has happened, you can’t even remember the last time you had been with someone. At least not like this. Not this whole, not this complete, not this turned on and so fucking alive that it feels like electricity is shooting through your whole body. Your body is constantly moving along with his, meeting every thrust.

You open your eyes to see Ryan already staring at you, pupils blown wide with desire to the point where the blue is barely visible. His pink lips are parted as his breath comes out in pants. You squeeze yourself around him, causing him to bite his bottom lip.

Both your hands come up to cup his face and you press your forehead against his, forcing yourself to keep eye contact with him even when his cock finds that spot. You whimper and he grunts. He’s pounding into you harder now and he’s picked up the pace. He’s close.

You crush your lips to his in a sloppy attempt at a kiss and his resolve snaps. His hips are merciless and the bunkbed bounces dangerously against the wall as love making turns into something more carnal.

“You gonna come for me?” you groan to him before rolling his bottom lip between your teeth.

He growls. “Fuck yes,” he says. “You’re gonna make me come. So wet. You feel so fucking _amazing_.” His hand worms its way between your bodies and his thumb begins to circle your clit. You cry out at the stimulation, whole body oversensitive and just ready to explode again. Your orgasm is not as big as the other one was, but once your walls flex around him, that’s it.

He comes with a loud, low moan. He buries his face in your neck as he keeps pumping his hips, riding out his release until he’s completely spent.

His body is shaking when he eventually collapses against you. You both are panting hard and you bury your nose in his hair, nuzzling him.

The only sound is the fire crackling in the stove and your heavy breathing as you both try to gasp for air. Your bodies are drenched in sweat and now you wish you hadn’t lit the stove. You can feel him soften inside of you and eventually he slides out. You whimper at the loss, feeling oddly hollow, yet still sticky and more relaxed than you have felt in a very long time.

Eventually Ryan draws back slightly, lips seeking yours. The kiss is gentle and sweet. Ryan reaches up smooth your hair back from your face before his thumb strokes your cheek. When he pulls away, his eyes are sparkling and his cheeks are flushed. “Live up to the fantasy?” he asks, eyebrows drawn together almost worriedly.

“It was even better,” you assure him.

You’re not sure whose stomach does it, but suddenly there’s a loud grumbling noise and you remember neither of you has eaten breakfast. You both can’t help but giggle, which soon turns into peals of laughter. Ryan rolls off of you and onto his side so his back is to the wall, and you turn to face him. “We should probably eat something,” he says.

“Yeah, refuel and then go for more,” you say, wiggling your eyebrows at him.

Ryan let’s out a huff. “More? Not satisfied enough yet?” he teases.

“I’m sorry it’s sooo much of a chore,” you say, rolling your eyes dramatically.

“Dear, if that is being added to our list of chores, then sign me the fuck up,” he tells you, pulling you towards him. He dips his head to give you light peck.

“Now that I know what it’s like to have sex with you, you are in so much trouble,” you say in a low voice, rubbing your nose against his.

“I wouldn’t say ‘trouble’,” Ryan responds with a wide grin. “I like to think we now have another way to spend our evenings.”

You laugh and reluctantly pull away as your stomach grumbles. “I’ll go clean up and then we’ll get some food.”

You climb out of bed and bend down to grab your underwear. As you slip into them, you glance back at Ryan to find him smiling at you, his head propped up by his hand as the blanket drapes across his waist. “Stop looking so delicious,” you tell him. “Otherwise I’ll just get right back into that bed.”

“Is that really supposed to deter me?” he asks with a laugh.

“Fair enough,” you grin and go to freshen up. Your reflection in the mirror shows that you’re practically glowing. Your hair is a mess, your cheeks are flush, and there is a trail of love bites down your neck and chest. You look properly, and thoroughly, debauched.

You’re just coming out of the bathroom when you suddenly there is pounding on the door, forcing you to freeze in your tracks. There’s a moment of silence, before the pounding comes again. You hear the bed creak upstairs and Ryan’s footsteps as he comes thundering down the stairs. “Was that you?” he asks.

You shake your head and scoop up the sweater you left on the bathroom floor the day before. You toss Ryan his pants and he hurries into them as the knocking continues. He barely yanks them on before he’s rushing to undo the latch on the door. You don’t even have a chance to find pants for yourself before Ryan throws the door open.

“Geoff?! Jack?!” he exclaims as two men stand framed in the doorway. He steps aside to let them in.

One man is taller than the other and seems to be heavier, but it’s hard to tell seeing as they are both completely bundled.

“Ryan, you mother fucker!” the shorter of the two men exclaims, pulling Ryan into a tight hug. “We thought we lost you out here!”

“Geoff, how...what...where?” Ryan can’t even get his words out.

“Still can’t talk apparently,” the one named Jack says. “We were in the area looking for survivors when we heard you on our radio. But I don’t think you could hear us. We tried to respond but we didn’t hear anything else. Took us forever to find this cabin. We just followed the train tracks and hoped for the best.”

It all makes sense now. No wonder why Ryan wanted to explore the area. No wonder he looked so sad when you couldn’t find evidence of other people. He was looking for his friends. He was hoping they were still alive. And they are.

You clear your throat loudly and when Ryan looks at you, you give him a pointed look. “Oh sorry,” he says, coming over to stand next to you. He introduces you to his two friends.

“Go figure Ryan finds the one woman left in the area,” Geoff says, nudging Jack. Ryan grins and throws his arm around your shoulders.

“Where did you guys come from?” you ask.

“There’s a small group of us about three days walk from here,” Geoff says. He turns to Ryan. “We came to the area because we wanted to see if you were still, you know, alive.”

“Group? You mean there are others?” you ask excitedly. Almost five or six months of being alone, and you finally learn that there are still other people out there.

Ryan also looks excited. “This is amazing news!” he says. He turns to look down at you questioningly but he doesn’t need to ask because you have an answer ready.

“We should go,” you say. “Pack up whatever supplies we have and head out tomorrow, first thing.”

“Yes!” Ryan grins. He turns to address Geoff and Jack. “We have plenty of medical supplies and a good collection of canned food we can bring back with us.”

“Awesome, that’s great,” Geoff says. “We’ve got a nice community going. Now that we found you, I think this area was the last we had to comb over. Some of our scouts are already moving south to look for places to camp and set up. It’ll be nice to have more help.”

It’s then that he raises his eyebrow at you and you realize both you and Ryan are still half-naked. Also, Ryan’s neck has a particularly dark hickey on it.  

“I’m going to go put some pants on,” you say chuckling. “Ryan, you want to get the stove down here going? Maybe get them something to eat?”

“Yes, I’m freezing and hungry,” Jack says, taking his coat off. “Food sounds great.”

“And I need a drink,” Geoff adds.

“Oh, we don’t have any...and you have your own,” you say as he pulls out a flask. Ryan laughs and gets to work on the fire as you hurry upstairs.

You can’t keep the grin off your face. The world isn’t completely empty. There are still people. More people. You and Ryan can head south with Geoff and Jack and be part of a community again. While the thought is exciting, you feel a tad disappointed it’ll no longer be just you and Ryan.

As you finish getting dressed, the blue-eyed, lumberjack joins you. “This is amazing!” he says, scooping you into a hug and spinning you around. “I can’t believe my friends are here and we’re going to be around other people.”

You giggle. “It is amazing,” you say. You let your smile falter slightly. “We’re still going to...I mean, I don’t want this to change anything between us. This doesn’t me we’re over, does it?”

“Oh god no,” Ryan says, putting you back down the floor. “It won’t change anything! I want to keep this going. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

“Trust me, the feeling's mutual,” you say, leaning up to give him a quick kiss.

“You guys better not be doing naughty things up there!” Geoff calls.

You and Ryan draw away with twin smiles and he grabs his shirt from the floor. “I should get back down there,” he says softly to you. “I know this is probably overwhelming. Take your time. Meet us when you’re ready.”

You nod, grateful that he understands what you’re going through. You give him another kiss before you bend to grab your pants.

Ryan tugs his shirt on and heads towards the stairs. “Oh, one more thing,” he says, forcing you to look up at him. “Just so you know, just because they’re here and going to be sleeping downstairs, doesn’t mean I’m not going to keep exploring you tonight.”

A powerful shiver rushes through your body and your eyes grow hooded as he smirks at you. “Looking forward to it.”


	6. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I felt it needed a proper epilogue, and because the newest update to The Long Dark had a great moment in it so I had to write it down. 
> 
> Also because I didn't pick one before, here is the fic song: https://play.spotify.com/track/090EjMiw6jgs4VwCbzUEmO

**FOREVERMORE**

It had been a virus.

Not an “oh my god zombies” type of virus. Just a shitty virus no one could shake. It took out almost half the population of the US before a cure was found. Those who never caught the virus were unaffected. Those that had and required the cure, well…

There hadn’t been time to work out all the side effects. Those few that managed to survive did so at a cost. A cost that hadn’t seemed like a big deal at the time, but now is something you think about constantly.

You’re roused out of your musings when the RV jerks unexpectedly.

“Don’t kill us,” you mumble, pushing back your hood.

Ryan shoots you an apologetic smile from the driver’s seat. “Sorry, dear,” he says, reaching over to stroke your cheek. “Did I wake you?”

“No, I was already up,” you assure him, stifling a yawn. “What time is it?”

“Nearly seven,” Ryan says.

You make a face. It used to be easier to be up so early. But now it’s just annoying. Especially after driving most of the night. You and Ryan had switched out some time after two in the morning. You stretch, your joints making unpleasant popping noises.

“How much further?” you ask.

“Nearly there, I think,” Ryan answers. He nods towards the radio. “Hail Geoff, see if we have a clearer ETA.”

You pick up the transmitter and press the button on the side. “Blue to Yellow, come in,” you say.

While you wait for an answer, you rummage around the cans and wrappers at your feet looking for anything unopened. A bottle of water drops into your lap and you smile at Ryan graciously. You’re in the middle of taking a swig when Geoff’s annoyed voice comes in over the radio.

“How many times do I fucking have to say it? We’re fucking Orange! Not Yellow!”

You roll your eyes as Ryan chuckles. Putting the bottle in the cup holder, you respond to Geoff, “Whatever, dude. You still know I’m talking to you. It’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big fucking deal!” Geoff insists. “Color blind, bastards!”

“Ugh, FINE! Orange, what’s our ETA?” you ask.

“About twenty,” Geoff says. “Already got in touch with Burnie. He and Ashley arrived safely and the way is clear.”

“Awesome, thanks, Geoff.” You put the transmitter back. “Finally!”

“Tell me about it,” Ryan agrees. “Can’t wait to be able to settle down. Been traveling for so fucking long.”

“Have a house, grow some crops, start a community,” you list. “I never thought we’d get to do any of those things.”

“And yet we will,” Ryan grins back at you. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” you say. You look over your shoulder to examine the rest of the RV where all your stuff is packed and ready for your new life. “Part of me will miss this RV. The other part of me is really excited to never fucking sleep in here again.”

Ryan laughs. “It’ll be like two years ago,” he says. “You and me, in our cabin.”

Your cabin. Had it really been two years? Seems like a lifetime. You still remember every detail. Sometimes you go back and read your old journals, smiling at your reactions to Ryan when you first met. Occasionally you even read them out loud to him, which he always gets a kick out of.

“Sort of like our cabin,” you say. “Except we’re not completely alone anymore and there’s no danger of freezing to death.”

“Very true,” Ryan says. “Also, there’s the whole being married thing.”

“Oh yeah, that too.”

Ryan leans on the steering wheel, peering out the windshield. “Looks like that’s us.”

You copy him, squinting at the buildings in the distance. The excitement inside you begins to grow. You spend the rest of the ride in comfortable silence. By the time you and Ryan pull up to the town, everyone else has already parked and are getting out of their vehicles.

Geoff slams his door and lets out a loud cheer, which is immediately echoed by everyone. Michael and Lindsay are already unloading their stuff while Burnie and Ashley emerge from one of the nearby buildings.

The cold bite of winter is still in the air, but after being in a stuffy RV for several days, you don’t mind. You inhale deeply before allowing yourself a proper stretch.

Burnie approaches you just as you close the passenger side door. “Hey, Doc,” he says. “We were thinking of grouping some of the trailers and RVs together to use as infirmaries until we get things cleaned up and organized.”

“Sounds good,” you tell him as Ryan comes to your side. “Ours has most of the meds. We’ll make sure they're evenly distributed.”

“Perfect,” Burnie says. He opens his arms for a hug and you are happy to oblige. “Good to see you guys. Been a long time.”

“It has, but we’re all back together again,” you say. “Well, most of us. Geoff says the others are on their way.”

“Thank Christ for that,” he agrees. He pulls away from the hug and gives Ryan a firm handshake. “Welcome home, guys.”

He goes off to greet the others while you and Ryan take in your surroundings.

“Well,” your husband says. “Guess we can just pick whichever one we want.”

You chuckle, watching as Michael and Lindsay carry their stuff into one of nearby houses. Ryan takes your hand and the two of you begin to walk through the town. It’s seen better days, and is going to take a lot of work to fix up, but most of the buildings are actually still standing. There is a general store and a few smaller cabins before you get to a couple of empty shops and larger homes.

In the distance, your eyes find a farmhouse and you instantly know you want it. You squeeze Ryan’s hand and break into a light jog, tugging him along with you.

“Whoa, what’s going on?” he asks.

“I see the house,” you tell him. “I see the one I want.”

Ryan quickens his pace so you’re running side by side, until you two finally reach the house. The door of the porch is already open, moving gently in the wind. You go up the steps first, Ryan right behind you. The knob on the back door turns easily and you push it open as you step over the threshold.

You find yourself in large kitchen, with plenty of cabinets, counter space, and a large woodburning stove. There is a hallway to your left that leads to a bathroom and a bedroom. You and Ryan carefully walk all the way inside, closing the door behind you.

“This place is bigger than it looks on the outside,” Ryan comments, mapping the layout of the kitchen with his foot steps. You follow his lead, keeping an eye out for weak floorboards, animals or anything else.

You continue walking through the downstairs. In addition to a living room, you also find a study and the front door.

“I’m going to see if this place has basement,” Ryan announces after you both deem the house acceptable. “Assess the pipes, see if I can find the circuit breaker. Burnie and Ashley have lights on in their house so the electricity is on. Hopefully Michael won’t have to do any wire work.”

“Good idea, I’ll look upstairs,” you tell him. “Be careful.”

“Always.” He leans in a gives you a quick peck on the lips.

You take the time to unzip your hoodie and unravel the scarf from around your neck while you move towards the stairs. They are creaky, but solid. You’re glad because replacing them would have been a giant pain. There are a few steps to a landing, before the next set of steps goes up to your left.

It’s dark, but you’re able to make out a large bathroom and another bedroom with two small beds. Both rooms draw your attention as they are directly in front of the upstairs landing. Your boot kicks something solid and you jump in surprise. But when you pick it up, you realize it’s just a large piece of wood.

You can’t seem to find a light switch, but you can see the outline of a window, just ahead of you. The drapes are drawn closed, blocking out the sun. You cross over to it and yank them down.

The room is bathed in bright light and when you turn around, you almost wish you hadn’t.

In the space in front of the bedroom and bathroom, what would have been a sitting area has been repurposed into a nursery. An empty crib sits against one wall, blankets rumpled as if a warm little body had just been picked up from a nap. You look down in your hand and you realize you’re holding a child’s building block.

It slips from your fingers, but you don't both trying to catch it.

After a moment, you slowly walk over to the crib for a closer look. You gently rest your hands on the rail, lips pursed tightly to keep yourself from making any noise.

From downstairs you hear the sound of Ryan’s footsteps. He calls for you, but you’re too lost in your head to answer. He comes up the stairs.

“There you are,” he says when he sees you. “Good news is the pipes look fine. Boiler too. Circuit breaker is all set so we should have power if we…” His voice trails off when he finally sees what has your attention.

You don’t even feel the need to voice your thoughts, but he already knows what you’re thinking about. He comes to stand behind you, his arms circling your waist tentatively. “How are you doing?”

You sigh. “I’m okay,” you say. “I’m fine. I...accepted this a long time ago.”

“Sweetie,” Ryan says. “You told me yourself, there’s still a chance--”

You don’t want him to say it. “Ry, two years,” you interrupt. “We've been having unprotected sex for two years. If it hasn’t happened yet, there’s a very small chance it actually will.”

“And I’m okay with that,” Ryan tells you instantly. “We’ve talked about this. I don’t need a baby to be happy. I just need you.”

“Doesn’t mean I don’t want one,” you say.

Ryan pushes your hair back from your face and places a few kisses on your cheek. “I know you do. I love you, we will figure it out,” he says. “And honestly, I’m just glad you survived the virus. We wouldn’t have ever met otherwise.”

You sigh heavily and smile, leaning into his touch. “I'm glad too.”

Ryan gives you another minute to reflect before he gently pulls you away from the crib. “Come on, let's check out the rest of the other rooms.”

In addition to the bedroom by the stairs, there are two other bedrooms. One has bunk-beds and the third has a king-sized bed. By process of elimination, you choose the room with the king-sized bed for yourselves.

“As much as I love sleeping squished with you,” Ryan says, eyeing the bed. “Can I just say, hooray for wiggle room.”

“Trust me, I’m not offended in any way,” you assure him. “It's amazing how excited you get with the little things.”

“Tell me about it,” Ryan says. “The basement has a washer and dryer. I almost cried.”

“Did you see the clawfoot tub?” you ask, gesturing behind you towards the bathroom. “We're going to live like kings!”

Ryan laughs at this, following you into the bedroom. “Where do you want to start, my liege?” he teases. “It’s going to take forever to clean this place, so we’ll want to just focus on the important rooms today.”

“This room, one of the bathrooms and the kitchen,” you list. “Because I want to nap, take a shower and eat.”

Ryan laughs. “As well you should,” he says. “Alright, if we’re sure this is the place we want, I’m going to get our stuff from the RV.”

“Oh I’m sure. It’s perfect. Do you want to see if the others have any clean sheets?” you ask. “I know we have a lot to do, but I’m exhausted.”

“Of course you are, you drove for twelve hours straight, crazy lady,” Ryan says. He leans over to kiss you on the forehead. “A nap sounds great. We can afford to take our time and rest now. Finally.”

“Glad we’re on the same page,” you say, pressing against him in a small hug. “I just want to strip and climb into bed.”

“Mmm, sounds wonderful,” Ryan hums, nuzzling your hair.

You hit him playfully on the chest and push him away. “Not remotely what I had in mind,” you tell him. “But, maybe some making out.”

“Hey, I’ll take it,” Ryan grins. “Alright, I’ll go get that stuff.”

You move to the window as Ryan walks towards the door, but before he leaves, he turns around to look back at you.

“What?” you ask him.

“Nothing,” he smiles, leaning on the door frame. “I just like seeing you smile.”

You fight the blush and shoo him away. “I’d smile more if I had my stuff.”

Ryan rolls his eyes lovingly. “Yes, dear.”

You listen to his footsteps fade before you get to work cleaning up. You open the remaining windows in the room, letting the cool spring breeze carry away the stuffiness. The curtains are filthy, so you take them down. Next you strip the bed, gathering all the linen into a huge ball and throwing it just outside the door. The mattress actually has a protective pad on it and when you remove it, you’re pleased to see it’s fairly clean.

By the time Ryan comes back, you’ve already begun to dust off the surfaces of the furniture.

“Your bedsheets, my lady,” he says, gesturing with the pile in his hands. “Already it’s easier to breath in here.”

“There’s still a ton of dust,” you tell him, wrinkling your nose as you try to hold back a sneeze.

“Yeah, this whole place needs a deep clean,” Ryan agrees. “But it’s totally worth it.”

You couldn’t agree more.

It’s nearly noon by the time the bedroom is properly clean. Of course by this point, you’re even more exhausted than you were when you started, and sore from moving furniture around. The closet and dresser are full of clothes, which you dump onto the large laundry pile outside your bedroom. Ryan puts yours and his clothes in their place. When you’re officially done, you strip off your own dirty, dusty clothes. After washing up quickly in the bathroom sink, you come back to your new bedroom and slide in between the fresh sheets.

You can’t help but let out a low moan.

Ryan looks over at you with a raised eyebrow. “I pray I can make you sound that satisfied one day.”

You giggle, burying yourself in the blankets. “You can try. I won't stop you,” you offer, sleepily.

Ryan chuckles and begins to strip off his clothes. “I just might take you up on that.”

As he goes to wash up, you take a moment to just breath deep. It’s a strange feeling to be so peaceful. You don’t think you were ever this peaceful even before the outbreak. Your husband joins you a few moments later and you can’t help but snuggle into his embrace.

The both of you listen to the sounds of your friends outside as they get to work settling in the town your group has claimed. Word is already spreading and it won't be long until more survivors find their way to you all. Especially with the others out looking. And the radio signal you and Ryan were able to broadcast before you joined back up with Geoff.

It's wonderful.

You bury yourself in Ryan's side and he curls around you.

Hours later, you’re dragged out of sleep by the sound of Geoff’s voice over the radio. Ryan had insisted on keeping it by the bed just in case and now you wish you had protested. You were in the middle of perhaps the best nap of your life. When you open your eyes, you’re surprised to see that it’s night. You and Ryan slept the rest of the day away.

Ryan mumbles with annoyance before reaching over onto the nightstand. He grabs the transmitter. “Yeah, Geoff, what’s up?” he asks, voice thick from sleep.

“Hey, just heard from Jack,” Geoff says. “He and Caiti should be here in about two days.”

A little more alert now, Ryan sits up and rests against the headboard. “Did they find anyone?” he asks. You drape yourself across his chest and he presses a kiss to the top of your head.  

“Yeah, fifteen,” Geoff says. “Meg and Gavin should be here the day after with five.”

Ryan is silent for a moment before he asks in a soft voice, “Any kids?”

There’s a beat, which gives you the answer before Geoff says it. “Yeah, five.”

“Between both groups?” Ryan asks.

Again, Geoff pauses. “No,” he eventually says. “All of Meg’s and Gavin’s group are kids. Parents aren’t accounted for.”

It’s like someone let all the air out of your lungs. You pull back from Ryan slightly to share a pained look with him. Your heart aches for the children. It was bad enough being by yourself in this situation. Having to deal with it so young...they must be so scared.

An idea strikes you that makes you sit up suddenly.

Ryan looks at you with curiosity. “What is it?”

You try to find the right words before speaking, knowing that if you don’t, what you have to say is going to sound crazy. “Well,” you respond tentatively. “We have the room.”

It takes a moment before understanding passes across Ryan’s face. But when it does, he gives you a soft smile. “Tell Meg and Gavin they can bring them here,” he tells Geoff.

“You guys want all of them? Jesus,” Geoff says.

You and Ryan laugh. “For now, yeah,” your husband tells him. “This place has plenty of space.” He pauses again before asking, “Infants?”

“Just one,” Geoff says. “Apparently she doesn’t like Gavin. Throws up on him anytime he tries to pick her up.”

“She sounds perfect.” Ryan’s smile widens.

“Alright, I’ll let them know you guys will be ready for them,” Geoff says. “Have a good night.”

Your mind is reeling as Ryan puts the transmitter down. You slide out of bed and slip on one of Ryan’s clean shirts. While he does the same, you leave the bedroom to step into the nursery. The crib still sits where you found it earlier, and once again you lean on the railing, staring at the blankets. Except this time, it’s with a little spark of hope.

Ryan follows you part of the way. “You know, I think this wall is the chimney from the fireplace in the living room,” he comments, touching the brick wall on the opposite side of the room. “Bet this room stays nice and warm in the winter. Pretty good place for a nursery.”

“Yeah, but winter is over and with four other kids, we may want to move the crib into our room,” you say, smiling at him over your shoulder.

“Probably a good idea,” Ryan agrees, coming to stand next to you. “And that bedroom downstairs would make a great play room. The bed in it is broken anyways.”

“Well, looks like we have even more work than we originally thought,” you say, unable to keep the excitement from your voice.

Ryan looks equally excited, if not slightly nervous. “It’s gonna be tough,” he says. “And we have no idea how many other kids will be in the groups that Jeremy and Matt are bringing. Then there is the chance their parents will return.”

“That's okay. I'm not suggesting we keep all of them. They can stay here until we can find their parents or at least proper homes,” you say. “I know Michael and Lindsay would be up for it. And I’m sure Burnie and Ashley would be too.”

“So, we're going to run the infirmary and the orphanage,” Ryan states.

“Hey, go big or go home,” you say with a shrug.

Ryan laughs and slides his arms around you, pulling you into a tight hug. “Alright, crazy lady,” he tells you. “We slept the day away and we have things to do still.”

“Kitchen next,” you tell him. “We are going to have a full house in a few days and I need to start prepping meals. I’m sure they’ll be hungry.”

Ryan nods in agreement and leans down to give you a kiss. You return it enthusiastically, hands coming up to rest on his shoulders. His circle your waist, crushing you against him in a tight hug.  

When he pulls away, he lightly bumps your nose with his own. “Let’s get to work.”


End file.
